About the Bone China Institute
An educational reference on bone china, edited in Stoke-on-Trent and dedicated to Josiah Spode.
Purpose
The Institute exists to help people appreciate bone china — and to make sure that what they learn is true. It explains the material’s history, science, craft and culture for anyone, from a curious first-time visitor to a hotel buyer or a ceramic engineer.
How the Institute is run
The Bone China Institute is privately operated by people who work in the ceramic tableware industry, including people connected with TCL Ceramics, Arta Broch, LAZZARO and Royal Salisbury. It is not affiliated with any standards body, museum, university or trade association, and it holds no accreditation. Directory entries for those four companies are marked “Connected with the Institute”. The directory does not rank makers, and the same sourcing rules apply to every entry.
Editor
The Institute is edited by Will Johnson, Stoke-on-Trent. It has no external technical reviewers at present, and we do not claim any.
How claims are researched
- Sources first. Every numerical or technical claim links to a source. Standards and peer-reviewed research come first; then museum records and reference works; then manufacturers’ own statements, labelled as such.
- Independent and manufacturer information are kept apart. “The company states…” means exactly that.
- No absolute claims. “Typically”, “generally” and “in well-made products” are there on purpose.
- Making is not branding. A backstamp does not establish who made the ceramic body.
- Research read carefully. Studies of plate colour or weight did not test bone china, and we do not say they did.
- Honest images. Objects shown as bone china are catalogued as such by museums. Other photographs are labelled as illustrations.
Corrections
If you find an error, or you represent a maker and can supply evidence for a directory entry, please contact the editor. Corrections are dated on the page concerned.
Dedication
To Josiah Spode (1733–1797), whose works at Stoke-upon-Trent made bone china a British art.
Image licence register
| Image | Source, creator and licence | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The underside of a cup with a backstamp reading Royal Burlington, Fine Staffordshire Bone China, Made in England | Backstamp on a Royal Burlington cup: “Fine Staffordshire Bone China, Made in England”. Andy Mabbett, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. | Maker’s mark — not proof of composition |
| A Worcester bone china teapot of 1878 modelled as a double section of bamboo | Teapot with double bamboo body, Worcester factory, 1878. Bone china. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017. Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A Worcester bone china bottle vase of 1879 decorated in blue and white | Bottle vase in blue and white (one of a pair), Worcester factory, 1879. Bone china. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017. Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A Copeland and Garrett plate of the 1830s with a pale blue rim, gilded edge and painted flowers | Plate, Copeland & Garrett (successors to Spode), Stoke-on-Trent, c. 1830s. Catalogued by the museum as porcelain. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A white cup on a table in warm sunlight | LL Barkat / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A plain white cup and saucer | Sixteen Miles Out / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A Crown Derby bone china dinner plate of about 1810 to 1830 | Plate (part of a dinner service), Crown Derby, Derby, c. 1810–30. Bone china. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Maria P. James, 1911. Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A potter fettling unfired ware at a workbench | Fettling at Carters of Suffolk pottery, Stonham Aspal. Michael Garlick, geograph.org.uk, CC BY-SA 2.0. | Process illustration — not identified as bone china |
| Hands finishing a piece of unfired ceramic | Raymond Petrik / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A surviving brick bottle kiln at the Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton | Bottle kiln, Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton. Martyn Davies, geograph.org.uk, CC BY-SA 2.0. | Historic site |
| Inside a bottle kiln, with stacked saggars used to hold ware during firing | Inside a bottle kiln, Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton. Stephen Craven, geograph.org.uk, CC BY-SA 2.0. | Historic site |
| Bottle kilns at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton, in 1989 | Bottle kilns at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton, 1989. Chris Allen, geograph.org.uk, CC BY-SA 2.0. | Historic site |
| The bottle kiln at Middleport Pottery, Burslem, beside the canal | Middleport Pottery, Burslem, a working Victorian pottery (it makes earthenware). Roger D Kidd, geograph.org.uk, CC BY-SA 2.0. | Historic site |
| A Minton bone china plate dated 1881 | Plate, Minton(s), Stoke-on-Trent, 1881. Bone china. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Robert L. Isaacson, 1989 (1989.311). Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A bone china soup plate by Minton, about 1880, its rim painted in imitation of Chinese cloisonné enamel | Soup plate, Minton(s), Stoke-on-Trent, c. 1880. Bone china. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Denis Gallion and Daniel Morris, 1991 (1991.39). Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| An early Minton bone china teapot and stand of about 1800–05, decorated with a Greek-key band and gilding | Teapot and stand, New Oval shape, Minton, c. 1800–05. Bone china, overglaze enamels, gilding. Gardiner Museum, Toronto. Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A Minton bone china vase of about 1855 with a pale blue ground, painted flowers and gilding | Vase, Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent, c. 1855. Bone china with bleu céleste ground, painted in enamels and gilded. Victoria and Albert Museum (4323&A-1857). Photo: V&A, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A composed restaurant dish on a white plate | Jay Wennington / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A Spode plate of about 1815 painted with rocks, flowering plants and birds in enamel colours | Plate with rocks, flowers and birds, J. Spode, Stoke-on-Trent, c. 1815. Bone porcelain with coloured enamels. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Hans Syz Collection (1995.268.67). Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| The entrance to the Spode Works on Church Street, Stoke-on-Trent | Spode Works entrance, Church Street, Stoke-on-Trent, 2014. Rept0n1x, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. | Historic site |
| A stack of white plates | Jesse Kojo Kuntoh / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A laid table with white tableware | Lucas T / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| White tableware on a dining table | Urban Gyllström / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A white teacup and saucer | Sixteen Miles Out / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). | Illustration — not identified as bone china |
| A covered bone china chocolate cup and stand, Staffordshire, about 1815–20, painted with a landscape and richly gilded | Covered chocolate cup and stand, Staffordshire, 1815–20. Bone china, painted in enamels and gilded. Victoria and Albert Museum (414-1899). Photo: David Jackson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 UK. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A Worcester bone china teapot of 1879 in the Japanese taste | Teapot, Worcester factory, 1879. Bone china. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017 (2018.62.89a, b). Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
| A rectangular Worcester vase of about 1872 painted with scenes of porcelain making, including a kiln and painters at work | Rectangular vase with porcelain-making scenes (“the oven for burning clay” and “the painting of the wares”), Worcester factory, c. 1872. Bone china with enamel and gilding. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017 (2018.62.96). Public domain. | Genuine bone china (museum catalogue) |
.jpg){kind=link}
Met images: Open Access, public domain. Wikimedia Commons and geograph.org.uk images: licences as stated, checked through the Commons API in November 2026; Creative Commons images are credited to their creators. Unsplash images: Unsplash Licence. Diagrams are the Institute’s own. No brand photography or watermarked images are used.
Sources
All sources are collected in the reference library.